Indies Introduce

Young Adult

• 
  Anna and the Swallow Man, Gavriel Savit
  Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780553513349, January 26, 2016 (Young Adult)
  

  Orphaned and alone at the start of WWII, Anna is taken in by the mysterious Swallow Man. Like the Swallow Man, author Savit recognizes the power of language — that words can envelop a reader in an experience that manages to leave you enchanted and brokenhearted.

  Sara Grochowski, Brilliant Books, (Traverse City, MI)
  
  

  A haunting story of survival in Poland during World War II, Savit’s lyrical prose draws the reader in and keeps them close. When her father doesn’t return home from work one evening, Anna does the only thing that makes sense: she follows a tall, mysterious man out of the city and into the woods. Anna learns to survive by listening, watching, and trusting the dark and almost mythical Swallow Man in all he says and does. But as the war drags on, Anna is tested and she must find an inner strength to make her own way and take care of herself. 

  Kari Meutsch, Phoenix Books, Essex, VT
  

  I immediately fell in love with this dangerous, heart-wrenching, beautifully told tale. Anna is a precocious child and has studied languages with her professor father for the entirety of her first seven years. But when he is picked up for questioning at the start of World War II and doesn’t return home, Anna is at a loss until she meets a strange man with an affinity for languages, even a few unusual ones, such as Bird and Road. He becomes her Swallow Man and the two of them traverse the wilderness of Poland, Germany, and Russia together as Anna learns that humans are the best hope for the survival of other humans and that the greatest danger is being found. With an incredible mastery of language that had me reaching for Post-it notes, Anna and the Swallow Man is a must-read for fans of The Book Thief and for anyone with an affinity for the wisdom of children. 

  Danielle Borsch, Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena, CA